Karin's Week Fourteen Recipe: Garlic, Black Bean & Sausage Soup

It was a cold, rainy, and dreary day... so I decided to make soup.  As what else would make a filling, warm comfort food - fast?  I have a book called Fresh and Simple Quick Simmering Soups, by Better Homes and Gardens, and usually I make the Red Pepper Soup out of it.  Paging through, this soup looked easy, and we had all the ingredients on hand.

Garlic, Black Bean & Sausage Soup

12 oz bulk mild Italian sausage
1.5 c chopped onion
10 cloves garlic, minced (approx 5 tsp)
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
2 - 15oz cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 - 14/5 oz can beef broth (I just measured approx amt from my box 'o' broth)
Dash ground red pepper (optional)
1/4 c sour cream
2 c chopped tomatoes (I used 1 14oz can, so approximated)
2 T snipped fresh oregano (I used Penzey's dried, approx 1 T)

In large saucepan cook sausage, onion, garlic and fennel seed over med-high heat for 10-12 min or until sausage is no longer pink. Drain well. (I didn't have anything to drain at this point.)

Stir in black beans and beef broth. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 min.

Meanwhile, if desired, stir red pepper into sour cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (I didn't do this, as Nate does not like sour cream.)

Just before serving, stir in the tomatoes and oregano into soup; heat through. Top each serving with sour cream mixture.

This soup turned out quite nicely - it got 4 thumbs up. The only thing I might change, is to use a slightly spicier sausage, as the mild we used didn't seem to add much in flavor. I did put sour cream in mine, and liked that it made the soup thicker. I had the leftovers for lunch the next day, and it was even better after it had sat in the fridge overnight.

Chris's Week 11 Recipe: Pie Crust Sausage Rolls

My current fridge is 25 years old and every time it fires up, the volume of the compressors rises to a crescendo that sounds as if the mothership is taking off. Fortunately, I managed to nab a Minnesota appliance rebate and I'm in the process of cleaning out my old fridge in anticipation of the delivery of a shiny, new and doubtlessly much more energy-efficient model. What to do with a package of pork sausages and an extra Pillsbury pie crust...?

Pie Crust Sausage Rolls

WARNING: this recipe should be considered experimental. Attempt at your own risk!

1 Pillsbury pie crust

package of pork breakfast sausages

1 egg

1 T water

Take your pie crust out of the fridge to thaw a little. Fry up the sausages. Beat up the egg and water to form an egg wash. Let the sausages cool and drain a bit while you cut the pie crust into 12 'pie-shaped' slices (or however many slices you need for the number and size of sausages on hand. I used a set of kitchen shears to do this, but a sharp knife would work as well.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Put a little egg wash on the inside 'tip' of a slice of pie crust and roll up the sausage in it, starting with the sausage at the wide end of the slice. Once all your rolls are artistically arranged on the pan, brush a little egg wash over the tops. Bake at 450F for about 12 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.

Would I make this recipe again? Yes, if only to improve on it. The pie crust was still a little doughy in spots even though the tops were very clearly done.

What do you think? Slightly lower temp and longer baking time?